A Little Girl’s Belief in Santa

Once upon a time, in the mid 1980’s, there was a young girl in Camden, NJ getting ready for school. It
wasn’t an ordinary day though. Her mom dressed her up in her green valor sweatshirt and red pants
because the elementary school was taking her somewhere special. Little did she know she would be
seeing Santa later that day and he would give her the gift of her dreams, a Peaches & Cream Barbie. It
was on every little girl’s list that year and she was beyond thrilled! Even though it was the only gift she
received, she had a wonderful Christmas. And she played with Peaches & Cream for years to come,
through several reincarnations.

This little girl grew up and eventually gave birth to a child of her own. She was out shopping for her
baby’s first Christmas when she saw a donation bin with a familiar logo on it. It was in that moment that
she realized she was a child who had benefited from the Toys for Tots program. Growing up she was
aware that her family was poor, there were times when it was a struggle to even put food on the table.
But her dad picked up side jobs like shoveling snow. And in the summer months they planted vegetables
in the backyard to fill the gaps. They did the best they could with what they had and Toys for Tots
allowed her to retain her belief in Santa. Ever since she saw that bin, she has been a supporter of their
program. So much so that she spearheaded s2s’ 10+ year commitment to the charity.

Each year our teammate Jennifer Bunting coordinates our office’s collection of gifts for the Burlington County, NJ Toys for Tots program. From the get we’ve worked with Bill, a gentleman who drives all over the county collecting gifts for children. To us, and surely to the families he serves, Bill is Santa, and we consider Jennifer one of his elves. Now a mother of four, Jennifer has always included her children in the shopping of gifts for donation. Because they have never gone without, she wants them to understand there are some who do and how they can help.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! If you would like to donate to Toys for Tots please visit this link for
more information, https://www.toysfortots.org/request_toys/Default.aspx